Gadget Review: Windows Vista Readyboost Using an SD Flash Memory Card

I recently purchased a refurbished Acer 3690. This computer is a simple, low-end workstation, meant mainly as a budget laptop. It can perform very simple tasks: web-surfing, word-processing, and music.

The machine sports a 1.6 MHz Celeron M processor, a wimpy 512 Mb of RAM, the Intel 945 GM graphics chipset, and a 60 Gig hard drive. For media, it has a DVD/CD-RW drive, three USB 2.0 ports, and a 5-in-1 flash memory card reader.

The version I purchased came pre-installed with Windows Vista (I know, 512 Mb of RAM really makes Vista sluggish). Prior to purchasing additional RAM, I decided to opt to try the Readyboost feature of Windows Vista.

If you haven't already heard about the new features on Vista, essentially (this is a disposable definition of Readyboost, but here goes) Readyboost creates a something like a paging file on a USB flash drive. So, if you have a thumb drive at your disposal, you can simply plug it in, and you have a small performance increase.

Microsoft recommends between one and three times the amount of memory of your on-board RAM. If you have a 1 Gb of RAM, and you have a USB drive of 4 Gb capacity, and you should set the Readyboost between 1 Gb and 3 Gb.

Here's a handy rhyme: 1 Gig RAM for 3 Gig flash, Readyboost will make you fast!

Readyboost works because USB 2.0 can transfer information quickly to the motherboard, in a different way than the actual paging file located on the hard drive. Forgive me, I'm not a techie; that's the way I understand it.

How much extra speed does Readyboost provide? Well, from my own experience, the time that it takes for programs to load (iTunes, Firefox, and MS Office) has almost halved. I have not yet tried to press the issue with this small increase in performance, but I'm glad that it takes 5 seconds to load iTunes, rather than 12 seconds.

OK, it's not much of a benefit, but it is nice that my programs load just a tiny bit faster. Think of how much time this saves in the long-run.

Here's the setup: I utilized the 5-in-1 card reader included with the computer. For memory, I used a 1 Gig PNY Polaroid SD card (about $19 at your local computer store).

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FORMAT the SD card to NTFS instead of FAT.

2. De-select INDEXING.

Your flash drive might not work without these two steps. Readyboost (on my machine at least) can only use the flash card if it's formatted to NTFS. Secondly, the indexing feature (should be in the "general" list after left-clicking "properties") must be turned off.

Got it? NTFS and Indexing off.

Next, I selected 870 Mb to be used for Readyboost (recommended by Windows), clicked OK, and the drive worked.

Summary

Now, I realize that an extra five or six seconds isn't going to change your life dramatically, and it certainly won't allow me to play the latest games - I'll avoid Bioshock after that DRM issue...can't play that on this budget laptop, anyway - but the system has considerably improved its stability. (Vista now only crashes twice a day! Excellent work, Readyboost!)

The main benefit is that I have more time to find a deal on some decent RAM for this laptop, saving me a few dollars. Also, it was a fun experiment on an otherwise boring Thursday evening.

I did notice that the start-up time has slightly decreased with the SD card in the slot. This may be my imagination, however, I'm making a colloquial observation, not an empirical one.

In the long run, wonder what benefit Readyboost will bring, or what would happen if I use a larger SD card. And, when I finally decide to upgrade the RAM, perhaps this meager laptop will have loftier goals.

Good luck with your own Readyboost experiment; don't be ashamed of your geekiness, live it and love it.